Hadley Instructional Audio-Video Workshops for People with Vision Loss

Program Overview

Hadley offers practical help, connection and support free of charge to everyone, with or without a visual impairment. With Hadley, you can discover new ways to do things that have become more difficult due to vision loss and connect with a network of peers who "get it." At Hadley, you can learn how to safely prepare food, label medication bottles, or use the low vision features on a smartphone to read email and more. And you don't need to come to Hadley. Hadley's help comes to you - online, on the phone or through the mail.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Lauren's first Hadley experience, in 2021, was learning braille. She confides that she had good days and bad days with braille because it is challenging. She likes being able to learn at her own pace—which is fast. Before long, she was reading children's and young adult books. “I am so thankful for braille," Lauren shares. While she enjoys reading, braille has been most helpful at home, where she lives independently. By labeling the contents of her first aid kit with braille, she can now tell medicines apart with “just a little touch." She also uses it in the kitchen to label food items and jokes that she no longer opens cans of tuna fish by mistake.

Lauren labels clothing hangers with braille to coordinate her outfits and stays organized by making lists and updating her calendar. After Lauren used braille to label the boxes stored in her garage, “I felt accomplished. If I want to get one thing, I can find it. It is fun getting organized." Now, she is excited to be writing her recipes in braille. “I will have a designer cookbook. That's important to me," she says. Hadley has also been a great resource beyond braille. “The information that I get from Hadley is so helpful," she shares. “It saves so much wear and tear."

When Hadley helped her find tools so she could continue her love of sewing, she realized, “This is so doable. That's Hadley!" Living in California under the threat of wildfires, Lauren was inspired by a Resource Roundtable discussion to assemble an emergency “go bag." Today, she keeps a collection of essential items handy and updates it with fresh supplies and seasonal clothing. She also customized this list to include her own necessities—like coffee.

Lauren's vision loss is the result of Steven-Johnson syndrome, which she contracted at the age of eight. This serious but rare skin condition can lead to eye inflammation, dry eye, and light sensitivity. In severe cases, like Lauren's, it can cause visual impairment and blindness. Vision loss progressed over time. When she was 24, Lauren could read a book when held close to her nose. At 35, she was ready for her first guide dog. In the past couple of years, her vision has declined more rapidly. Now 74, she can distinguish light from dark and, on a good day, she can make out the blurry outline of the lemon tree in her yard.

With a guide dog, Lauren can get around swiftly and independently. She's had several wonderful dogs over the years and was devastated when her most recent dog passed away. She is currently on the list for another. In the meantime, the guide dog agency recommended mobility training to learn to walk independently with a white cane. While looking for a local agency to come to her house to assist with this, she also discovered Hadley's distance learning programming and signed up to learn braille.

Lauren has become proficient with the cane but admits it is more challenging and takes longer to go places than with a guide dog, so she is apt to stay home more often than before. Because she is someone who likes to be active, Hadley has been a wonderful way to learn and explore during this time. “You people keep me productively busy," she remarks. “It's like having little adventures. Hadley is just so much fun. I wish people at Hadley could see my heart. It has been a life changer, and a fun one." For Lauren, this includes trying new recipes from the What's Cooking discussion group, taking a workshop on birdsongs, and reading a book recommended in the Book Nook discussion group. Next, she is looking forward to tapping into Hadley's technology resources to help set up her Android phone.

Grateful for this experience, Lauren has also become a Hadley donor. She recognizes the impact that Hadley has made in her life and in the lives of others. “Hadley people are adventuresome. People sound so cheerful. You never hear them saying, 'I can't' but sharing what they can do. They are regular people who are finding new ways to overcome a challenge. They are out there doing things. Hadley is helping them to have a better quality of happy adventure in life."